Lyman plains pistol nipple

[leadhoarder]

I just received a new to me plains pistol. The nipple that came with it seems to be one of those slix shot or similar nipple that has the vent holes on the side. I am sure this is not the OEM nipple. It is in good shape and does not need to be replaced but I noticed that the way the hammer sits on the nipple that the nipple is too high. Probably not enough to matter and I am not going to bother replacing it but I am curious if there are different sizes available for the plains pistol. I think a previous owner likely put a rifle nipple on it.

 

[leadhoarder]

I was looking under ampco nipples here: Muzzloader Paercussion Nipples, Cap and Ball Nipples,
and it looks like Lyman switched to a longer nipple at some point, The pistol has an 85 date code so maybe I need the short/older nipple instead of the newer/long one?

Difference shows to be .036"

 

[Grenadier1758]

That little bit of difference in height of the cone won't make any difference in performance. There shouldn't be a stop on the frame to minimize the mushrooming of cone due to impact of the hammer on the cone. I have a Cherry Corners lock on my own parts build Hawken Rifle. It has a Hot shot nipple (#11 size). It has a spring from a L&R Late English lock that is strong enough to fire a #10 cap on that nipple. I watch for mushrooming on the cone as the nipple stops the hammer fall. So far, no mushrooming. I wouldn't be looking for a replacement nipple just yet.

Track of the Wolf does show two lengths of nipples for the Lyman Rifles. The Hot Shot nipple which has the vent hole similar to the one on your plains pistol is the overall length of 0.635". The other nipple has a length of 0.570" but there is no distinction between a new or old Lyman.